Fantastic human felines lined the stage for CATS Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights for a spectacular show.

Every dancer had lithe, flexible cat-like movements that enhanced the choreography, which itself had great imagination and used the talent of the performers. Together with the colorful characters that were played amazingly well, there was never a doubt that the performers transformed themselves completely into cats.

"They really move like cats -- they think about their characters when they're out there," said Karla Zaar (freshman-biology).

Light-catching, bright costumes and intricate makeup finished the metamorphosis.

The numbers never stopped delivering powerful performances. Easily covering for the basically plotless show, they were varied and well-done.

The highlights were many. "The Old Gumbie Cat" culminated with dancing cockroaches and cats stealing the stage for an energetic tap number. Then the pelvic thrusts of the rock-and-roll cat Rum Tum Tugger, reminiscent of Elvis, seduced not only the she-cats, but the audience too.

"The show running is equal with the one running on Broadway right now," said Jim Gillis (senior-wildlife biology). The cast deserves credit for just being able to pick up and move so much, he added.

Other fun numbers were the acrobatic duo Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer telling the story of their cunning antics, the musical inside a musical in "Growltiger's Last Stand," and "Mr. Mistoffolees," with its special effects and his cool entrance and costume.

"Memory," Grizabella's lament over her lost youth -- the overdone song of the century -- was still inspiring. Donna Lee Marshall lent the song new life with both her pensive first performance and her powerful, expressive recapitulation. Truly moving, it was touching and sorrowful, despite the sickening synthesizer backing her.

Besides the synthesizer, CATS brought with it a real pit, albeit small. Hearing the rich lower horns and the soaring trumpets coupled with real percussion added another dimension to the already impressive show.

But the clear vocals and the music from the pit was undermined by the structure and sound system of Eisenhower Auditorium. Once again, the sound was, sadly enough, distorted by the walls and, more noticeably, the grating sound system.

This was no fault of the performers, though, and their strong performance overcame the difficulties of the auditorium. CATS stands among one of the best shows on Broadway and at Eisenhower this season.